


First Cleansing

by AxelGear



Category: Hazbin Hotel (Web Series)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:55:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25154317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AxelGear/pseuds/AxelGear
Summary: Vagatha is a new Exterminator about to embark on her first Cleansing - Little does she realize it will change her afterlife forever.
Relationships: Charlie Magne/Vaggie
Comments: 4
Kudos: 28





	First Cleansing

\------

"We just went through another Extermination . We lost so many souls, and it breaks my heart to see my people being slaughtered every year - No one is even given a chance..." 

\- Charlie Magne

\------

The Exterminator Captain inspects his squad of 6.

CAPTAIN: “Vagatha! This is your first Cleansing. Are you prepared?”

She salutes, proud of herself for having worked so hard to get to this point - After arriving in Heaven only a few years ago, she quickly decided she wanted to be part of the elite team, and now here she was, already an Exterminator. Heaven might be the right place to be, but it could get boring...

VAGATHA: “Yes Sir! Ready as ever!”

CAPTAIN: “Alright! Are we all ready to clean up this scum?!”

TEAM: “Yes Sir!”

They put their helmets on, and their eyes flash bright...

{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}

Charlie looks up at the Pentagram Portal in the sky+

CHARLIE: “Any minute now...” 😞

The Portal opens, and the Exterminators pour through.

Helpless to save anybody, she begins to sob.

{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}

Vagatha is exhilarated as she soars through the air - Pentagram City is nothing like a city in Heaven. Everything is red and sleazy, and icons of sin are everywhere - it almost looks exciting, compared to the sterile white streets of Heaven...

The Captain’s voice is heard over the Helm-Comm...

CAPTAIN: “Remember, do NOT engage Royals. They are off limits! Do you understand?!”

TEAM: “Yes Sir!”

Vagatha receives a request to speak on a private channel - She accepts.

SQUADMATE: “Too bad though, eh? Imagine the glory of taking down a Royal!”

{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}

On the balcony, Charlie fires off a series of magic fireworks from her hands as a final warning to anybody that may be left outside - she trudges back inside her room in the Royal Palace.

She has done all she can.

{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}

Vagatha skewers one Demon, and beheads another with her spear - It cuts through them with no effort at all.

She wonders why they do this, but shrugs off the dangerous thought - she only follows orders.

She cuts another helpless Demon in half - Orders are always right.

{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}

Charlie gets an idea - what if she could talk to one of them? Maybe if they could just talk and find some common ground...

Maybe they could see eye to eye, and that was what saved lives!

{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}

Vagatha kills more and more - It was too easy, there was no glory. Most of them were unarmed, and a small part of her felt sorry for them...

She banishes that part of herself to the back of her mind - It wasn’t her place to think such things.

Suddenly, the same Exterminator who had sent the private comm before sends a request to speak privately again.

{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}

Charlie thought about it more and more - She just KNEW she could get through to one of them. She was sure of it!

This could be a real breakthrough, a real chance to do some good!

She walks out onto the balcony again...

{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}

The Squadmate has a plan - They’ll kill a Royal, and while they would likely be expelled from the Exterminators, they would be celebrities forever in Heaven.

She couldn’t help but imagine...an Exterminator on her first Cleansing, removing a Royal from existence...such an enormous amount of evil removed from the world...

Vagatha is unsure, but she goes with him anyway - they fly to the Palace.

{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}

Charlie sees two winged white forms in the sky - This was her chance! She summons up all of her courage.

She waves to them - They will not harm her because she is a Royal.

But they were coming in awfully fast...

{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}

SQUADMATE: “Are you ready, Vagatha?”

VAGATHA: “Are you sure about this? Orders are orders.”

SQUADMATE: “It will be worth it, trust me! We’ll be doing the universe a big favor!”

Vagatha notices that he cannot keep the bloodlust out of his voice.

{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}

Charlie continues waving at the two forms.

CHARLIE: “HELLO! I’m sorry, could we please talk?! It’s really important! Please?!”

She is about to say something else when one of the Exterminators dives feet first and slams into her chest.

{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}

Vagatha watches her Squadmate perform a diving dropkick on the Royal with such force that it blasts her back inside her room //

Vagatha sees that she was trying to talk to them.

She follows, still unsure of what to do.

{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}

Charlie slams into a bedpost, the wind knocked out of her.

What was happening?

{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}

Vagatha watches her partner slowly and menacingly approach the Royal - She was still on the floor coughing and holding her chest, trying to catch her breath.

She thinks back to the final briefing notes on the Cleansing - One in particular stands out in her mind...

Demons embody evil, inside and out - this is why they deserve to be Erased...

{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}

Terrified, Charlie scrambles backwards on the ground.

CHARLIE: “No...Wait...!”

{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}

Vagatha looks at the Royal.

She does not look evil - In fact...

She looks like the most beautiful thing Vagatha has ever seen.

Was that a sin?

She looks at her Squadmate - he slowly draws his spear, savoring the Royal’s fear.

This feels wrong...

{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}

Charlie is terrified, more scared than she has ever been in well over a hundred years of life.  
She pleads with the Exterminator.

CHARLIE: “I have no weapon...you can’t hurt Royals...!”

The Exterminator raises their spear...

{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}

VAGATHA: “Wait!”

He does not wait.

VAGATHA: “STOP!!”

He laughs as he swings the spear down at the terrified girl.

{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}

Charlie screams, convinced it is the last sound she will ever make.

But nothing happens.

She looks up at the Exterminator.

{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}

The Captain receives an alert on his Helm-Comm.

// WARNING - KIA //

CAPTAIN: “WHAT?!”

{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}

Vagatha pulls her spear free from her Squadmate’s throat.

He drops his spear and grasps his neck, collapsing to his knees, and then his side.

He chokes to death on his own blood.

Vagatha immediately smashes his helmet’s HALO antennae.

{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}

The Captain frantically searches his HUD for the Squadmate’s last location, but the signal is already gone.

{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}

Vagatha stares down at the Squadmate in shock.

What has she done?

{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}

Breathing heavily, Charlie pushes away from the would-be assassin, crawling backwards on her elbows.

The other Exterminator simply looks at her, their helmet and spear gleaming.

Charlie watches in shock as they begin to take off their helmet.

{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}

Vagatha unclasps her helmet and pulls it off, dropping it on the floor.

ROYAL: “Are you going to kill me too?”

Angel and Demon stare at each other.

Several tense seconds go by...

Vagatha drops her spear - It clatters on the floor.

VAGATHA: “You...are a Demon.”

The girl nods slowly.

VAGATHA: “A Royal.”

ROYAL: “Charlie. It’s just...Charlie.”

Vagatha pushes a button on her suit, and the seams of the flexible armor pop apart - She takes it off piece by piece.

A confused Charlie watches without moving, still on the ground on her back, propped up on her elbows.

Vagatha takes off the last piece of armor attached to her thin bodysuit and walks to Charlie, who doesn’t move, and gets on her knees to be eye level with the Royal.

CHARLIE: “Please-“

VAGATHA: “Am I bad?”

CHARLIE: “...What..?!”

VAGATHA: “Am I bad? Are we the Demons?”

Her voice is strong, the voice of somebody who speaks with conviction - but both are wavering.

Charlie doesn’t know what to say.

VAGATHA: “Because...I think I just realized we are.”

Tears begin to stream down her face.

Charlie is stunned.

VAGATHA: “I don’t think you’re bad.”

CHARLIE: “...You don’t?”

Vagatha looks into her sworn enemy’s expressive eyes - her own eyes beg for forgiveness.

VAGATHA: “Because...there’s no way - in Heaven or Hell - that somebody as beautiful as you, could be bad.”

CHARLIE: “Ooh...!” 

Vagatha turns around to walk away.

She suddenly falls to her hands and knees and breaks down sobbing.

Charlie sits up and watches her for a moment - Angels might be the enemy, but...she was gorgeous...

VAGATHA: “Everything I know is wrong...”

Charlie slowly gets on her feet, staring at the Exterminator who saved her life.

CHARLIE: “Hey...look at me.”

Vagatha is too ashamed to face her.

Charlie takes her chin from behind and pulls it up so that Vagatha is looking straight up above her.

Charlie stands behind her and looks straight down, deep into her eyes.

VAGATHA: “I’m...I’m so sorry...for being what I am.”

They continue to look into each other’s eyes, searching for understanding.

CHARLIE: “Don’t be. We’re the same.”

VAGATHA: “Are we?”

CHARLIE: “You saved me...Thank you.”

A fresh wave of tears flows from Vagatha’s eyes/

VAGATHA: “I don’t know what to think about anything anymore...”

CHARLIE: “I think...I’m pretty sure there’s good and bad on both sides. It’s just that, your home is known for good, and mine is known for sin. But we’re both people.”

Vagatha wipes her eyes/

VAGATHA: “Can you...?”

CHARLIE: “Yes...?”

VAGATHA: “Can you...teach me to sin?”

Charlie leans in closer - She might be an Exterminator...but...

CHARLIE: “...How about I show you?”

Charlie gives the Exterminator a tender upside-down kiss.

Vagatha stiffens up but does not stop - she relaxes after a few seconds.

The kiss feels like it lasts for an eternity - it becomes more than a kiss, an understanding - Charlie sheds hot tears, confused about her feelings, and Vagatha does the same.

When they finally part, Vagatha gets up and wipes Charlie’s face of tears.

She picks up her dead Squadmate, and throws the body off the balcony outside.

CHARLIE: “What’s your name?”

She walks over to her helmet - She picks up her spear, and after a moment of hesitation, crushes it with the blunt end in one blow.

VAGATHA: “It’s Vagatha.”

She carefully leans the spear against a corner, far away from Charlie, and walks back to her.

CHARLIE: “That’s a beautiful name. Can I call you Vaggie?”

Charlie takes both of Vagatha’s hands and leads her to the bed.

VAGGIE: “I like that. Actually, I think I like anything and everything about you.”

They sit on the bed, and Charlie gently kisses Vaggie's forehead and simply holds her.

Vaggie does the same.

{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}——{*}

CAPTAIN: “Where is Vagatha?! Control, give me an update!”

CONTROL: “Checking - Vagatha is MIA, status unknown. You are out of time, return to base.”

CAPTAIN: “We already lost one, now another...? What’s going on?”

He decides to try to call Vagatha one last time....But there is no response.

The Captain sighs - She must be really be MIA.

CAPTAIN: “I’m sorry Vagatha.”

He links to all of his Squadmates.

CAPTAIN: “We are pulling out! Evacuate through the portal immediately!”

As his remaining 4 team members soar into the portal out of Hell, he looks around one last time.

The last Squadmate to fly through stops.

SQUADMATE: “Is Vagatha coming?”


End file.
